William Hurt’s General Thaddeus Ross made his debut way back in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Ever since then, fans were hoping that Ross would eventually follow in the footsteps of his comic-book counterpart and become the powerful and villainous Red Hulk.
Red Hulk is one of the Hulk’s most dangerous foes, nearly matching him in strength, but with Ross’ military cunning and training baked in. Hurt had expressed interest in seeing his MCU Ross Hulk out, but this would never come to pass, as he tragically died after a long battle with prostate cancer earlier this year.
However, as of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode eight, the character has finally been explicitly referenced in the MCU. When musing on why the episode hasn’t ended yet, Jen wonders if there’s going to be a twist, like “there’s another Hulk, but this one’s red”.
As this takes place in a fourth-wall-breaking moment it’s unlikely to be a direct hint at the character’s arrival, though it’s notable that Jen’s rampage that closes the episode sees her face tinted red by the lights of the emergency alarm.
If we are going to get an MCU Red Hulk, that story may be a long way off. It seems that Bruce Banner’s next story will take him back into outer space, though if we do eventually get a World War Hulk adaptation Red Hulk may show up there as a last-ditch attempt to beat the Green Giant into submission.
If the MCU Red Hulk is anything like his comics counterpart, we could be in for smashing on a scale never seen before in superhero cinema.
